See Nicolas Cage in the Superman that never was

A NEW documentary tells the story of Tim Burton's planned-but-never-filmed Superman movie. And yes, it had Nicolas Cage as the caped crusader.

Superman Lives was set to star Cage as Clark Kent, and was planned for a 1998 release date before a number of issues and personnel changes led to its cancellation.

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened?, a partially crowdfunded documentary, features interviews with the director, screenwriters and key members of the production team, and includes footage of Cage in costume fittings.

The trailer opens ominously with Burton asking his interviewer, "Why are you bringing up such painful memories? I just last year recovered [from the] shaking."

The cancellation of Superman Lives meant it was nearly 20 years in-between Christopher Reeve's The Quest for Peace in 1987 and the Bryan Singer-directed Superman Returns in 2006.

The character is now played by Henry Cavill in DC's new film franchise.

The documentary is available for pre-order from www.tdoslwh.com, and releases digitally on Thursday.